Followers of Bulgarian spiritual teacher Petar Dunov gathered on Saturday for a five-day symposium at the Seven Rila Lakes. The international seminar, titled "Proto-Bulgarian and Slav-Bulgarian spiritual teachings in harmony with world teachings," attracted more than 30 lecturers from Bulgaria and abroad.

The event was organized by two groups that follow Dunov's teachings - the DEN (Prospering Daily Life of the People) association and the Beinsa Duno cultural association. "Beinsa Duno means rock from the ground, and is equal to the name of Petar Dunov," explained Stefan Kalaidjiev, chair of the Beinsa Duno cultural association.

"The name symbolizes the building of spiritual unification and harmonization among people, which is the main goal of the seminar," he said.

Preservation of ancient spiritual teaching is the symposium's other major goal, explained Zhivko Zhelev, chair of the DEN association.

About 100 people gathered in the seminar hall for the fifth year of the event. In previous years, between 2,000 and 7,000 had gathered in the heart of Rila, said Kalaidjiev. These were followers of Dunov's teachings, who again met on August 19 and 20 to perform the Paneurhythmy - a cycle of 28 exercises, consisting of melody, text and body movements. Participants stand in huge concentric circles and sing and dance as the sun rises. These exercises are said to awaken the creative forces implanted in the human body, and serve as a method for physical renewal and strengthening of the mind, emotions and will. Dunov invented the Paneurhythmy in 1934. For Dunov's followers it represents a harmonious, creative manifestation of the Divine Origination within the whole cosmos.

Dunov was born in a small village near Varna (on the Black Sea) in 1864, and spent most his 80-year life in assiduous spiritual work. After receiving a theological education in Bulgaria and the U.S., he began his own spiritual teachings, predicting the coming of a new culture based on three principles: Love that brings life, Wisdom that gives light, and Truth that gives freedom. He also gave specific directions for everyday living to achieve these, such as what to eat and how to dress. The first spiritual study circles of Dunov's teachings appeared in Bulgaria at the end of the nineteenth century. Every August from 1900 to 1942 Dunov summoned annual meetings of the White Brotherhood (a non-racial term). From 1926 to 1941 they took place at the Vitosha Mountains near Sofia or the Rila Mountains. By 1948, a total of 184 books containing his lectures and musical works had been published. During Bulgaria's communist period, his followers were persecuted by the authorities.

"Nowadays, most of the followers of the White Brotherhood are young and middle-aged people, not only spiritual but also intelligent and well-educated, such as professors, doctors, and businessmen," said Zhelev.

The organizers chose the Seven Rila lakes as a location for the seminar, because they are considered to be one of the highest spiritual energy spots on Earth. It was not by chance that they had been called "the seven eyes of the planet," said Kalaidjiev. In this place people can get loaded with spiritual energy and synchronize themselves with the Supreme Being, he said. For the same reason the month of August was chosen, because in this period the connection with the universe is strongest.

According to Kalaidjiev, the teachings of the White Brotherhood are Christian and are a path to God. This is why almost all of Dunov's lectures start with a quote from the Bible. "Be good, be pure, think rightly, walk on the right path, learn the paths of God and you will receive God's blessing," wrote Dunov in his book "The Master Speaks."

Another goal of the organizers is to overcome the split in the Bulgarian Church. "It is inevitable that some day the whole of humanity will unite in Christianity," said Kalaidjiev and added that the Bulgarian people had a special spiritual role in this world union and were destined to lead humanity towards God.

According to the teachings of Dunov, the combined effect of the Bulgarian land and the unique Bulgarian voices had the power of a positively charged psychotropic weapon. Zhelev used Ioan Kukusel, fourteenth century composer, poet, and educator, and Valia Balkanska, present day performer of traditional Bulgarian songs as examples. Recordings of their performances are travelling through space on Voyager I and II. The seminar aims to enlighten people and to awaken in them the recognition of the Bulgarian's mission on Earth, said Zhelev. It is not by accident that Bulgaria has a unique combination of a head (the Rila mountain) and a spine (the Balkan Mountains), which does not exist in any other country, said Kalaidjiev. Bulgaria has many places of spiritual power because it is the crossroad between East and West, and has shared both sets of cultural values since time immemorial.

For these reasons new teachings and movements have originated in Bulgaria. These include the teachings of Orpheus, whose unifying music, poetry and philosophy provided the foundations of ancient Greek culture, and the Bogomil movement, which arose in Bulgaria 1,000 years ago and spread throughout Western Europe, engendering a number of religious movements and mystical schools of thought. Both Dunov and Nostradamus, the world-famous sixteenth century prophet, foresaw terrible world events between 2003 and 2007. The first indications that these predictions were true have already happened, said Kalaidjiev. "We want to stop the hurried flight of humanity towards a Sodom and Gomorra situation, and we want to save it," he added.